Trades pay and jobs in four data center markets, 2019 to 2025

We used the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, which reports employment and wages by occupation for each metro area as of May each year. We pulled May 2019 and May 2025, the latest release, for three occupations:

• ●Electricians (SOC 47-2111)
• ●Heating, air conditioning and refrigeration mechanics and installers (SOC 49-9021)
• ●Electrical power-line installers and repairers (SOC 49-9051)

We use the median hourly wage because a few very high earners can pull the mean up. All figures are in each year's dollars and are not adjusted for inflation.

The Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro covers DC and parts of Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia, so it is wider than Northern Virginia.

Median hourly wage, May 2019 to May 2025:

• ●Washington metro (includes Northern Virginia): $29.53 to $36.50, up 23.6%
• ●Dallas-Fort Worth: $23.75 to $28.37, up 19.5%
• ●Phoenix: $23.23 to $29.43, up 26.7%
• ●Atlanta: $25.39 to $28.20, up 11.1%
• ●United States: $27.01 to $30.38, up 12.5%

Pay rose faster than the U.S. figure in three of the four metros. The Washington metro is the only one of the four with a 2025 median above the U.S. median. Dallas-Fort Worth, Phoenix and Atlanta were still a little below the U.S. median in May 2025.

Median hourly wage, May 2019 to May 2025:

• ●Washington metro: $28.96 to $34.58, up 19.4%
• ●Dallas-Fort Worth: $22.24 to $28.63, up 28.7%
• ●Phoenix: $22.16 to $29.41, up 32.7%
• ●Atlanta: $21.88 to $28.35, up 29.6%
• ●United States: $23.43 to $29.33, up 25.2%

HVAC pay grew faster than the U.S. figure in Dallas-Fort Worth, Phoenix and Atlanta. The Washington metro grew more slowly from a higher starting point, and its May 2025 median of $34.58 was still the highest of the four.

Line workers build and repair the utility transmission and distribution lines that bring power to a new site. Median hourly wage, May 2019 to May 2025:

• ●Washington metro: $33.76 to $45.91, up 36.0%
• ●Dallas-Fort Worth: $27.09 to $37.46, up 38.3%
• ●Phoenix: $41.72 to $36.26, down 13.1%
• ●Atlanta: $27.26 to $40.18, up 47.4%
• ●United States: $34.86 to $45.83, up 31.5%

Metro counts for line workers are small, so read these with care. BLS estimated 490 line workers in Phoenix in May 2019 and 2,810 in May 2025, and it reports a 13.1% relative standard error on the 2025 Phoenix wage figure. With samples this small, part of a change can come from which employers BLS surveyed each year.

Electrician employment grew faster than the U.S. rate in all four metros. BLS employment estimates, May 2019 to May 2025:

• ●Washington metro: 13,830 to 16,580, up 19.9%
• ●Dallas-Fort Worth: 17,350 to 20,930, up 20.6%
• ●Phoenix: 11,130 to 17,240, up 54.9%
• ●Atlanta: 11,080 to 13,430, up 21.2%
• ●United States: 688,620 to 757,220, up 10.0%

HVAC employment grew faster than the U.S. rate of 19.8% in the Washington metro (35.6%) and Dallas-Fort Worth (55.6%), and more slowly in Phoenix (7.0%) and Atlanta (16.9%).

Many things move trades pay in a metro, including housing and commercial construction, factory work, union contracts, cost of living and population growth. Data center construction is one of them. OEWS does not break out data center work, so these figures cover every electrician, HVAC mechanic and line worker in each metro, residential and service work included.

BLS cautions that OEWS estimates are not designed for comparisons over time, because survey methods and metro boundaries change. Phoenix, for example, was published as Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale in 2019 and as Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler in 2025. We use the comparison to show which way pay moved and roughly how far.

If you are budgeting electricians or HVAC technicians for a build in Dallas-Fort Worth, Phoenix or Atlanta from 2019 or 2020 pay data, your pay range is probably low. BLS medians for these two trades rose 11% to 33% in those metros over six years.

In the Washington metro, the May 2025 medians were $36.50 an hour for electricians and $34.58 for HVAC mechanics, the highest of the four metros for both trades.

A BLS median covers every electrician in the metro. For ranges on data center roles, such as critical facilities electricians and commissioning technicians, use our salary guide and commissioning pay ranges.